Christmas Day
by MoonbeamMadness
Summary: Just a typical day in the Redfox household... Except of course it happens to be Christmas.


The years had proven cruel for Gajeel; a vicious reminder of past wrongs he'd been unable to rectify and the universe itself seeking to balance the scales in the most ironic way it could imagine. In his youth the idea of being married, children, a reputable guild and steady work were nothing more than fantasies. For decades it seemed like his future would always be one hacked out in the shadows. The brutal and unforgiving nature of his life leaving no room for joy or love, for family or friends. It was always a stumble from one terrible choice to another.

And then he'd ended up in Fairy Tail, married to the small, fiery tempered woman who'd loved him in spite of all that lingering baggage.

The children she'd given him.

Yes, the children. Gajeel winced as he found himself hit in the face with another cushion. His son distracting him while his still old but exceptional Dragon Slayer hearing picked up the sound of his daughter pulling his bedroom closet apart looking for their Christmas presents. They were only nine, but they schemed and plotted, executing their devious plans like they were veteran dark guild members. Sweetness and light for their mother, but for him? Not a chance. When Levy was away with her team, they seemed to discover new and interesting ways of tormenting him.

Drum kit for one. Who gave Yajeh a goddamn drum kit? How did the kid even sneak it into the house without him noticing? Gajeel didn't know, but for the entire extent of Levy's trip to Crocus palace, at all hours of the day and night, his delicate hearing was assaulted with the off tempo, rhythm deficient thunder of a set of twin children beating a drum to the point of destruction. When brought up on it his son had the cheek to jut out his small chin and announce "Mom would have let us," to a confused and stuttering Gajeel who just wasn't used to the blatant disrespect.

Yajeh was a handful….but he was at least upfront with his little rebellions. Shutora was something else entirely. At a glance it was easy to see the physical resemblance between Gajeel and his son. Those same sharp eyes, that almost patented glare; the boy was also growing at a crazy rate, too, it wasn't questioned that he'd be just as tall as Gajeel, but he was very much his mother's son and that's where his resemblance with Gajeel ended.

Yajeh liked to grumble and growl but generally talked out his problems. Shutora simply started breaking stuff. Throwing punches. Gajeel had grown up under the assumption that girls were the dolly playing, frilly pink teddy kind of offspring but Shutora was a hellion. Manipulative in the way children often were but smart enough to pull off what other children couldn't. Spoiled as well by the guild. And as likely to solve her problems with her fists as her father had once been; something Levy and him had been lately trying to curb. No one wanted a repeat of the school brawl, least of all the teachers. Twenty children involved? A classroom burned down? Managed to pin it all on Natsu's brat, too. Gajeel saw the grin, heard the smugness in her story. Both parents had no doubt she was the ringleader.

Gajeel remembered being so happy when they were born. So perfect. _Beautiful_. He thought he'd known what love was, being married to Levy, but this was something else entirely. He hadn't known however that the Universe had been laughing at him. That he'd literally sired himself a pair of personal torturers who for the next eighteen years and beyond would find new and interesting ways to keep him up at night with worry after worry, and they weren't even old enough to _date_ yet.

"Doesn't matter how many of them damn pillows you hit me with, kid, I ain't telling!" Gajeel crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes and looking over his shoulder, raising his voice to be sure his daughter heard him upstairs. "And don't think I can't hear yah messin' around in the damn closet!"

He heard the door to his bedroom slam closed as Shutora screeched like a demon, stomping small feet back to her room in annoyance; fuelled in part by failure, part aggravation at being caught. Yajeh at least had the decency to look moderately guilty, but the moods of children were fickle and it quickly morphed.

"We won't tell mom, I swear! We just want a _peek_?" He pleaded with Gajeel, tears were always a threat. The Dragon Slayer could barely believe that he could be held to ransom quite so easily. Fatherhood for you.

"Your mom would kill me, an' trust me, she'd _know_ I caved. It's only a week away, both of yah are just gonna have to wait for your presents," He ruffled his son's hair, grinning but knowing that the pair of them were not going to let this go.

They were the offspring of Fiore's smartest woman and him. Even _together_ , a united parental unit, they were often outmatched in the game of wills. On his own, without Levy, Gajeel had as much hope of dissuading them from their personal mission as he had of flying. And they'd gotten it into their heads to find the stash of gift hidden in the house and to hell with his or Levy's wishes.

The most Gajeel could hope to do was keep them occupied and off the trail until Levy got back in time for Christmas.

It started small, their pestering. Asking at breakfast and dinner, bugging him throughout the day as he tried to put up decorations and organise the house for the holidays. Then they started moving things when he set them down. Cups of coffee. Plates of food. Making no attempt to conceal themselves either. They _wanted_ him to know it was them. Gajeel knew it was escalating.

"Kids! _KIDS_!"

Gajeel found himself yelling as he marched through the house one bare foot, one booted foot, and a look that would have promised straight up, immediate murder to anyone else.

A smug, far from innocent grin appeared out of Shutora's room as Gajeel wandered aimlessly up the hall.

"What's up, dad?"

Gajeel narrowed his eyes, the girl couldn't look innocent if she tried. It didn't matter how big those eyes of hers got. He knew the all too terrifying truth.

"Whatcha do with my other boots?" He asked her plainly. Opening his closet today revealed only the left shoes out of every pair he owned.

"You've hidden _our_ presents, so we've hid a few of your things, too!" She announced as though it were a fair trade. Something _equal_.

Gajeel furrowed his brow in wonder at the nerve. If he'd have had half her gall and drive when he was the same age, he'd have probably been _running_ Phantom Lord i stead of José.

"I ain't kiddin' around. Where'd you and your brother hide my stuff?" Gajeel didn't want to try and guess what else might be missing. He supposed he would figure that out eventually, the most immediate problem however was his missing items of footwear.

"Yajeh hid your shoes….I hid your guitar. We promised not to tell each other where, too," She looked so sweet when she said it, hands clasped behind her back as she rocked on the balls of her feet.

His children were evil geniuses. He'd have to convince both to spill the beans before he got all his stuff.

"THIS IS GODDAMN _TERRORISM_!" Gajeel yelled throwing his hands up in the air and stalking off.

He managed to calm himself, sure, his children were good… but a Dragon Slayer's nose was nothing to mock.

After quite literally sniffing out the stash of shoes- hidden in bag in the attic- Gajeel locked them away in the closet again. Bolting the door closed with iron. They were getting adventurous. If it wasn't Christmas he never would have thought they'd be willing to venture up there at all. Gajeel splashed warm water on his face and vigorously blew his nose to clear it of the dust. He needed to collect the groceries and he figured the fresh air would empty his head as well. Who knew what else the kids were planning. Gajeel managed to get as far as the front door only to be left staring blankly at the empty hook were his coat once resided; the weather outside had been steadily getting worse over the last week and there was at least a foot of snow in the garden. He groaned.

"If I can't get to the store then I can't _feed_ yah!" Gajeel yelled in an almost sing song voice.

Yajeh appeared several moments later, no doubt after deliberating with his sister, only to offer Gajeel his coat and also one of Levy's oversized scarfs. The smell of her still lingering in the wool brought Gajeel no small amount of comfort.

"If you just _tell_ us…" The boy whined but Gajeel interjected before his son really got started.

"There's not a single thing you two can put me through that'll compare to what your _mom_ will put me through when she gets back…may as well give up!"

"NEVER!" Shutora half screamed from the top of the stairs, small fist punching the air as she threw herself down the steps where Gajeel jolted forward to catch her, the girl now laughing as he swung her around in his arms and set her down on her feet.

"Gettin' too big to be doing that, one of these days you're gonna flatten me," He smirked. His kids were fearless. Devious but fearless, he prided himself on that at least.

"This is _stupid,_ don't you want to know what _you're_ getting?" Yajeh pouted. Clearly unhappy with the fact that Gajeel was being so unmoving about this.

His father paused, hand on the door handle.

"What _about_ what I'm getting?" He asked, cautiously.

"Mom said she put your present with ours!" Shutora said with a clever little self-satisfied smile as the worm well and truly worked its way into Gajeel's mind. He'd no idea what Levy had gotten him.

Huffing in irritation the Dragon Slayer left for the store, his wife's scarf wrapped tightly around his face, muffling his curses.

When he got home, Gajeel knew they were watching him closely. Following his eyes. Trailing him from room to room in the hopes his own curiosity would lead them to the stash of Christmas presents. He'd held out though, been careful, and with Levy arriving back in the morning, just in time for Christmas day, it looked like they'd actually given up this time; too concerned with the last minute decorations and the sled he'd built them to bother searching for something this close to the day in question.

But there was one Redfox in the household that couldn't help but be impatient, and well after midnight, in the quiet and the dark, so he could be assured that they were still sleeping, Gajeel crept downstairs. He kept his ears open for any sounds from their room and pulled back the rug in front of the sofa, prying up several pieces of board. Tinsel glistened back at him in the dying firelight as he rummaged around in the space under the floor looking for anything new, anything that hadn't been there when he and Levy had stored the gifts.

"Nothing?" Gajeel hissed out through clenched teeth.

"YES!" Yajeh cried from behind him, startling Gajeel so badly he almost fell in on top of the presents.

He spun quickly, not knowing why it was he hadn't heard them creep downstairs until he spied the rune Yajeh had drawn on the front of his and his sister's pyjamas. Levy's stealth rune. Drawn no doubt with Levy's old discarded light pen.

"You two are gonna be cleanin' this house till _next_ Christmas!" Gajeel scowled. His twins seemed to ignore him, pretend his expression of disappointed fury didn't exist as they tried to push passed him; ogle the neatly wrapped boxes that they'd hidden under the livingroom floor in preparation for Christmas.

Gajeel had been looking forward to the joy and surprise on their faces; Christmas morning had become his favorite of the year. Levy and him both spending weeks working the worst of jobs to ensure that the twins had everything they wanted and more.

It seemed like they were getting too old for that. Too impatient to give their parents the satisfaction of Christmas morning.

"Oooh! I think this is the roller blade set I asked for!" Shutora squealed in delight shaking a box she'd wrangled free from under Gajeel's nose.

" _Enough_!" Gajeel growled in anger, feeling sudden shame at having snapped as the delighted faces of his children wilted to sadness. "Back to bed. Yer mom will be home in the morning," Gajeel whispered. Overwhelmed by the concept of how total his failure had been this year.

His children were taken aback by his reaction. Their delight at having outwitted their father spoiled.

"We just wanted…" Gajeel silenced them with a look.

" _Bed_ ," He growled out, pointing at the door.

The following morning Gajeel woke up early but lay among the restless blankets. Levy was due back in a few hours and he had a house to clean and the Christmas dinner to start and some way to make it up to his children. After sending them back to their rooms he'd set the presents out under the tree and fallen into bed.

But there was no sound of tearing paper this morning. No beating of drums. No laughter or squealing of joy as the twins unwrapped their presents. Gajeel lay there knowing he'd fucked up.

That didn't necessarily mean the house was silent. He could tell they were awake, could hear them moving downstairs. Talking in whispers; his paranoid mind wondering what else they might have planned for him. He whined into his pillow and rolled out onto the hard floor. His limbs stiff. Levy's side empty and cold.

Gajeel realised there was something off when he got as far as the stairs and didn't have to step over something. Toys or shoes. The area was clear of obstacles and it was obvious the steps had been swept. Gajeel was naturally a cautious, dare he say suspicious individual; he was incredibly slow to trust, and this was very bizarre.

Downstairs Gajeel stood for a minute in pure shock. None of the gifts had been opened. All of them still sitting under the tree exactly as he'd left them. The livingroom was clean and tidy. Almost picturesque. He narrowed his eyes at the fire one of the twins had lit in the hearth. They knew very well they weren't supposed to mess about with fire magic but the thought was lost among the sheer wonder of it all.

The sound of arguing led him to the kitchen where his flour covered daughter was hitting her brother with a rolled up magazine.

"I told you you can't solid script pancakes! Now look at me," Shutora was growling as she smacked her brother with the paper while he tried with great difficulty not to laugh.

Gajeel on the other hand had no hope of holding in the laughter. The soft chuckle erupting unto hysterics as Shutora pouted.

Catching sight of his father laughing, Yajeh looked suddenly bashful.

As the mirth faded and Gajeel was left wiping tears from his eyes he looked around at the mess.

"What's all this? Didn't open your presents, either?" He asked them, brow raised in question.

There was silence until Yajeh elbowed his sister who squeaked.

"We felt bad for ruining Christmas… So we got up early and cleaned up and Yajeh said he knew how to make pancakes but he totally didn't and they sorta exploded over the kitchen." She moaned looking sheepishly at her brother. "We… We also agreed not to open anything till mom got home."

Gajeel spent a lot of his time, while looking after them, worrying about all the negative traits that they'd been learning from him. The attitude they'd almost inherited. He just hadn't seen how much they'd also inherited from Levy. That kindness and generosity, that _light_.

He'd bought Levy a locket for Christmas and put their photos in it. Her jobs these days often brought in more money than his and with decidedly less risk, so she spent a lot of time away working. His gift to her was so she could take their little family with her no matter where she went.

Their gift to their mother though might have been even better; that she could be there to see them open their presents. Out of everything they could give her, that was something that was going to make her the happiest.

It was nearly noon when Levy stumbled into the house, fighting the wind and the flurry of fresh snow only to be bowled over by her children, already almost her height. The firelight dancing in the living room and the smell of cooking food and fresh pine from the tree left her aching to remove her boots.

She'd barely sat down on the couch when Gajeel handed her a hot chocolate and the twins started a ritualistic shredding of wrapping paper, filling the house with shrieks of joy that Gajeel could see made Levy weepy.

"I thought I would miss this," She looked to him as he sat down and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him setting the small box in her lap.

"Well, we have some pretty damn good kids," Gajeel said to her, quiet so those same 'good kids' didn't hear the admission.

Levy opened the small box and sucked in a breath, momentarily speechless at the silver locket seated on a little satin bed inside, a picture of her children nestled within. She threw her arms around him, teary.

"Thank you so much!" She rasped between sobs. "This is amazing."

Gajeel smirked rather smugly, clasping his hands behind his head.

"Well, an amazing wife needs an amazing Christmas," He said as though it was common knowledge. Leaning into her and planting a kiss on her temple as she put the locket on.

Gajeel laughed to himself, he would have asked her what his Christmas present was but there was no point.

Every day with her was a gift in and of itself.


End file.
